I’ve been interested in everything Real Estate for that past 10 years or so. I have purchased many courses over the years, but I just never gelt confident enought to take the leap. So, been stuck at a 9 to 5 job for all these years. I now feel that I have built up enough confidence and have been really praying and thinking alot about taking the leap. But with a mortgage, and other bills, it’s a risky proposition for sure. So, started my quest for a P/T job that would allow me to gain valuable experience (and hopefully make some additional money!) while keeping the security of my current job until things take off.
Well, this week my prayer was answered. The very first ad I responded to in the paper ended up being a VERY friendly and nice guy on the other end. Turns out he’s the owner. In a nutshell, he’s willing to allow me to start in the evenings and Saturday until I make enough money to quick my current job. He will mentor me and show me the ropes.
He admitted that it was a tough business and that it required me to be a hustler, but that’s a challenge I’m willing to accept.
Any feedback on what to expect and how to be successful in the business would be appreciated.
Well I don’t know where to begin. I love your excitemant and exuberance and wish you the best of success.
I would probably make a few more calls to find out the best offers out there. I do not want to take anything away from the gentleman that you spoke with, but, there are tons of openings available right now in the mortgage biz.
Do your homework before you make any final decisions. It is fine if you want to use your first opportunity as a stepping stone, but, let your boss know that.
Your boss will (should) invest alot of time and energy into you and if you are only using them for the training until something better comes along that is just wrong.
Find out where your leads come from. Do you have to find your own or do they provide.
How is the commission paid wkly, bwkly, monthly?
What is the % of comm paid? Is it graduated?
Is it higher if you bring your own lead as compared to a lead they provided?
I can go on and on. In short do your homework. There are alot of opportunities in this field. Just make sure that you find the right one. 8)
I met with the guy in person the other night at his office and ended up hitting it off pretty well with him. We spoke for about 3 hours. He said he NEVER spends that much time with interviewees but he said he liked my enthusiasim and said I was very level headed. I made it very clear that I had no prior experience in loans, or sales for that matter, but that I felt very comfortable speaking with people. I also made it clear that this is a stepping stone for me and IF I made any amount of money on this, I’d do it full time. I also indicated that I wanted to get into Real Estate investments. So he knows exactly what I’m looking for.
Some leads are provided, but he did say that I would also need to get my own leads. He explained to me several ways of doing this by advertising and word of mouth.
The commissions start off 50/50, but go up as I close more deals. I failed to ask when the commissions were paid though.
One question I asked him was, is it really a bad time right now in this industry? I told him I had seen many posts on this board that say it’s not like it used to be and business is hard to come by. He told me that was just plain B/S. He said it was a GREAT time to get in. Now, I realize that he may just be telling me this so that I don’t lose interest, but I feel really good about this guy and want to believe he is being honest with me. He even showed me his brand new BMW 745LI sitting outside.
I hear you brother! That’s exactly why I’m keeping my job until I know for sure this thing will work out. Thanks for wishing me good luck. I’ll need it!
You’ll be fine. Hey I’d suggest Lendia’s “Mortgage 101” to boost whatever training this guy is gonna give you. Read this how-to manual and you’ll know everything needed to do this job. The rest is all you, your people skills, confidence, positive outlook, etc.
But, most of all, price your loans accordingly and fairly. Don’t juice up your loans with all kinds of junk fees and last minute add-ons. Your initial proposal should be immediately disclosed via a GFE which should match the HUD-1 as closely as possible. Treat your prospects/borrowers fairly and respectfully, and you’ll get the best source of leads available… word of mouth referrals.
Good luck, friend!
Hey, i did a google, b&n, amazon search and didn’t see anything on the lendia site. I emailed the site, no reponse yet. I’ll call them tue if i don’t get a response. Where can i find the manual? TIA
Also, let us know how your job turns out dbassett74, i’m curious and interested in doing something simalar.
I’ll let you know how it goes. I don’t expect to actually start “working” until later this week or next. He’ll need to train me a bit and have me sit in with one of his senior guys when he’s closing a deal so I can see how it’s done. I think the toughest part of this job will be in generating my own leads.
Yeah the Lendia site has a little section called mortgage 101, but they also train their employees with an actual book entitled “Mortgage 101” accompanied by a comprehensive classroom session. Maybe they sell the book, I don’t know.
I think you might want to rethink what you are about to do. I have seen a lot of people with no prior experience jump into this business and fail over and over again. A class in mortgage 101 isn’t going to get you there and I wish people would stop supporting inexperienced loan officers to take a leap of faith in this 100% commissioned environment.
You need not enter the mortgage business if you think it’s going to get you a brand new BMW. You basically have told me that you are not entering thinking of how many people you can help, but how many people you can make money off of in order to get your BMW.
If you think you can step into a mortgage industry with no prior banking or lending experience I feel sorry for you and I feel sorry for the customers that you may come in contact with.
This is not a playground. Would you jump into being an attorney or a doctor with no prior experience or studies? No you wouldn’t. But because some owner of a small broker shop shows you his brand new BMW and fills you with hopes and dreams of your own you jump at the dollar signs.
Amazing. This refi boom has really drawn a number of greedy people.
Why don’t you try and get an education?
Do you know you’re going to leave a secure job with a secure paycheck?
I hope you don’t have any children to feed. They’re going to get pretty thin.
Maybe I’m being too harsh. Yeh, I am. Many loan officers today left their previous jobs, risked everything, knew nothing and still know nothing. This is the very reason why they can’t create relationships with Realtors and the very reason why realtors dislike loan officers.
No, I’m being too harsh.
Instead of working part time as a loan officer, why don’t you just go for the gold. Go to a doctors office and ask if he’ll allow you to work part time to learn how to operate on people. I hear many doctors drive nice cars too.
I truly doubt being a loan officer requires the intelligence that operating on people or being a lawyer does.
Being a good loan officer comes down to being passionate, motivated, organized and having knowledge of various lender programs, and being a damn good salesman, period.
I know I was one for 6 years and jumped into it from being a carpenter and averaged six figures every year…now I make more investing which is the only reason I left the field.
I also have a great loan officer that I use now who also jumped into it and she cant her phone to stop ringing and gets loans for people all the time who could not get help otherwise.
I say go for it…it isnt rocket science…just be motivated and dont let the naysayers hold you back, they feel threatened, ignore them.
Your goal should be to help others but there is nothing wrong with having a BMW either if you have earned it honestly.
Wow Lendinghand, It is amazing your choice of words for this person. I agree that they should not be able to just jump into a profession just like that, but I belive he stated that the guy was going to mentor him. The least you can do is encourage him to realize his dreams. If someone wants to be a loan officer, I do not believe that he needs to go to school for 10 years or so like a doctor does. Even if they have to be more educated, there is a better way of putting it than this harsh way.
I believ you are a loan officer yourself who (supposedly) provides customer service to your clients through great commnication. Be careful how you word your advice beacuse a lot of people are reading, even your own clients.
Hmmm…
I guess my question would be, If you had to be licensed to become a loan officer would you still take the test, pay for the license and go into a part time position helping people with their biggest financial decision in their life?
I am not saying don’t do it…I am just saying that there are a lot of companies that are setting up little offices using someone elses license to get things funded, hiring L/o"s to sell mortgages so that the “manager” of that branch can keep half of the commission.
A lot of brokers will promise you the world and the day you start your training will go something like this.
" Here’s your desk, Here’s your phone, Good Luck man your on your own".
I looked and interviewed for two years before I picked the company that I went to work for.
I hope for your sake that this guy is offering you health insurance, a company phone, 401k etc.